Friday, June 15, was the day an eight
month old beagle dog named Linus decided to venture away from his
neighborhood, and it almost cost him his life. Here is Linusí story.

This little beagle dog and his family live on Railroad Street in
Livingston. Linus shares the home with a mom and a dad and four
children. On Friday morning, Linus was supposed to go outside just long
enough to take care of personal business, but when the mom went out to
find him and bring him back in before she left for work, there was no
Linus. She looked for him as long as time allowed her to before going on
to work. Sometime later that morning, Linus ended up on a very busy
street in town, and being only eight months old, and not experienced
enough to avoid vehicles that many times are going too fast in the first
place, he ran out in front of a lady, and even though she did everything
possible to try and miss the dog, he was struck by her car. It was a
completely unavoidable accident. She was kind enough to stop and was
very upset about the little dog running out in front of her. Others
nearby who either saw or heard the dog get hit came to his aid, and it
was immediately decided that he should be taken to Ragland and Riley
Veterinarian Hospital. After arriving, x-rays revealed two fractured
bones, but luckily, neither required surgery. In addition, the little
dog had several cuts and abrasions that were treated, and just to be on
the safe side, Linus was required to spend a night in the hospital. The
next morning, he was picked up by the same kind hearted fellow who took
him in to be treated. Now reality sets in. What will become of Linus?
The fellow who came to his aid and his wife already have four cats and a
dog, and donít believe they can possibly care for another animal. In the
meantime and while trying to decide what to do next, a bed is made for
Linus in the garage (by the way, at this particular time, not only it is
not known who the dog belongs to, but no one know his name either.)
Instructions for Linusí care for the next week were to keep him confined
and as quiet as possible. It was necessary for the man and his wife who
are now caring for the dog to be away from home part of the same day
that he came home from the vet, and before leaving, Linus is checked on
and made as comfortable as possible. But the heartbreakingly sad look on
his little face said it all. After suffering a terrible accident that
resulted in nearly broken bones, plus having painful cuts and scrapes,
then being taken to a strange place where all kinds of things were done
to him and he didnít understand why, here he was in another strange
place with nothing familiar or no one around he really cared about. And
now, the people who have put him in the garage are about to go away and
leave him all alone. It was just the next thing to the end of the world
for him. But hold on, thereís light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes
stories do have happy ending after all and this is definitely the case
with this story. It seems that when the man and wife returned to their
home later that same afternoon, the first thing they planned to do was
to check on the little dog. But wait, when they get to the front door
what do they find but a note that had been left there. Hereís what
it said: "Hello, our names are Brad and Shirley Lockhart. The vet said
you had a beagle that got hit yesterday. Please, can we come see if it
is our beagle? Call us at ..." Very quickly, the call was made, and a
very excited young lady answered the phone, and in what seemed like only
a few seconds, both the Lockharts arrived at the home where the dog was
staying. But only one of the came in a car. That was the young husband.
The wife ran every step of the way. It seems the husband had gone out in
the car on an errand when the anxiously awaited phone call came in, and
the young wife didnít want to wait for him to get back. So she called
her husband on his cell phone, and then left home on foot, running all
the way, and the two of them ended up arriving at the same time. The
walk to the garage where the puppy dog was being kept was both exciting
and anxious at the same time, but it seemed that everyone was already
convinced the dog was theirs even before they even saw him. And it
didnít take but one look at the little dogís face to know it was
definitely his owners who had come for him. It was hard to know who was
the happiest ... the dog, the young couple, or the husband and wife who
had been caring for Linus. Now for the rest of the story. After looking
everywhere for Linus Friday afternoon, Shirley Lockhart went to the
ballpark that night. While she was there, she asked everyone she came in
contact with if they had seen a little beagle dog, and eventually
someone told her about a beagle being hit on a busy street in town. She
then called the vetís office and was told who had brought the dog in.
Next, a call was made to the home of the man who brought the dog in for
treatment, but no one was home. After making many more phone calls, the
Lockharts gave up and drove over to the house and left the note in the
door. A very happy reunion was the result that eventually took place
later that day.

Thank goodness for caring people who love animals enough to do the
right thing for them. If Shirley hadnít cared enough to take the time to
ask even strangers about her dog, who knows where Linus might have ended
up. Instead, heís back home where he belongs with his caring and loving
family. Over and over again the Lockharts expressed their deep
appreciation for what had been done for the dog. They just couldnít seem
to say thank you enough. What a happy but tearful ending for everyone,
especially Linus! In a world where we often hear bad news, itís so nice
to know good things with happy ending still do take place.

Brad
Lockhart and Linus, the beagle puppy, were reunited after an accident
almost took the little dog's life.